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Summary List of stories Phase II Night: Ashes, Metal, And Corruption << chapter 51 Chapter 52 of 75 Dashing Courage chapter 53 >> << previous scene Scene 2 of 2 next scene >> Location Participants Time Summary Prologue | Phase I | Phase II | Epilogue 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 Text Celestia leaned forwards, Tyrfing lashing viciously across another headless knight and knocking it stumbling before she snapped her horn upwards, and golden light irradiated the undead creature, bleeding through the holes in its armor and shining out of its gaping throat. It howled in despair, and then burst apart into smoke and ashes... but there was no time to slow down, no time to rest, as Sleipnir shouted in a frustrated voice: "Phalanx!" The ivory winged unicorn cursed under her breath, breathing hard and bleeding heavily from a sword buried in her back. It ached horribly, but pulling it out at this point wasn't an option: they were being swarmed from all sides, and for now, it hurt to move but it was also stopping her from bleeding to death. They had been pinned down in a gallery: Drones had flanked them in the corridor outside with Hobby Horses, in such great number they had no choice but to retreat. Their escort of Royal Guards had been killed, but even with Sleipnir's strength and an enraged, demonic Pinkamena backing them, it looked like they were doomed to die here. Her eyes locked on the doorway, watching as at least eight headless knights approached in a double shield-wall formation. Four in front, four holding their shields in a 'ceiling' over the others, swords all at the ready to stab and slice. Then she glanced towards Sleipnir as Pinkamena continued to rip and tear at the Drones still flooding into the room before Celestia ordered: "Tree fall!" Sleipnir glanced sharply behind himself, then he hopped backwards and kicked both rear legs savagely into an ornate stone pillar: it shattered at the base and fell forwards with a rumble, and Sleipnir ran ahead, then reared back and rose his front hooves, cursing in pain as the top of the pillar hammered down on him before he roared and swung the stone column forwards in a vicious swing into the phalanx of headless knights. The raw strength of the blow crushed at least two knights and knocked the phalanx out of formation, but it was nothing compared to when Celestia poured the last of her magic into the top of the pillar and flicked her horn, the end of the column exploding in a blast of rocky shrapnel and golden flame. The knights were knocked flat and Sleipnir staggered backwards with a curse as he was pelted by gravel, and Celestia cursed as she dropped to a kneel, looking up with a snarl as Drones flooded around the stunned knights. She wasn't ready to die like this... not because she was afraid, but because she hadn't saved everyone she could in Canterlot yet, she hadn't stopped Clockwork World, she hadn't... done so many things... Celestia breathed hard in and out... and then, slowly, she forced herself up to her hooves, standing again as Tyrfing rose in front of her as her eyes blazed. Blood dripped from her mouth, and she spat to the side before striding forwards, forcing herself not to limp as her eyes glowed and she shouted: "I am Celestia! I am Freya! This is my home and these are my people, and I will not let you harm another pony in this castle tonight!" Celestia anchored herself as Pinkamena and Sleipnir both withdrew beside her to the center of the ruins of the gallery, snarling at the doorway as the Drones began to encircle them and the headless knights picked themselves up. Then Sleipnir suddenly grinned, shaking his head before he murmured: "Well, I could ask for a worse death, sister. I have my older sibling and my beautiful wife here with me... but pray tell, Pinkamena, will thou not listen to thy husband just this once, and leave?" "Don't you ever ask me to leave again." Pinkamena looked over at him with a faint smile past Celestia on her skull-like features, and then the demon leaned forwards, setting herself and cracking her neck, baring her tombstone teeth. "Besides. Someone has to be there to look after you in the big beyond." Sleipnir smiled faintly at this, and Celestia closed her eyes as she bowed her head forwards, Tyrfing gleaming as the sword slowly rose... and then the ivory equine's eyes widened as the Drones and Hobby Horses went rigid, and then simply... stopped. One-by-one, the Drones and Hobby Horses all lowered their heads, before the Drones slowly turned gray and rotted away as the Hobby Horses lost all life, all energy, some becoming like metallic statues, others falling apart like nothing more than cheap, badly-constructed toys. The headless knights looked back and forth, some of them seeming almost on the verge of panicking before several turned to hurry out, and it left only two of the former broken phalanx dumbly standing as Pinkamena grinned widely and licked her sharp teeth slowly, and Sleipnir stomped a hoof firmly before pawing at the ground, neither questioning what had just happened. Celestia, however, was still staring, feeling a chill run down her spine as she looked disbelievingly over the crowd of unmoving dead... and then she gritted her teeth, and leaned forwards, readying herself as she said sharply: "Something's happened. Pinkamena, locate Scrivener Blooms and my sister!" "Great. Well, have fun, Sleipnir." Pinkamena said grumpily, and then the demon closed her eyes before she burst apart into dark smog, and Sleipnir gazed after this black mist adoringly as it wafted up into the air before vanishing. "I love her." Sleipnir said almost dreamily, and Celestia felt a mad urge to laugh despite herself before the earth pony lunged suddenly forwards, grinning widely at the headless knights before he ducked under a swing of a sword and then seized the headless warrior by the front hooves and smashed it like a club into the only other remaining monster, recriminating cheerfully: "Not so fun when thou does not have the advantage of strength and numbers, is it?" Pinkamena, meanwhile, had shot up into the sky, simply a formless dark mass that was homing in on the distinct, familiar presence of Scrivener and Luna... outside of the castle, further away than she had expected. As she shot towards them, twisting through the air at supernatural speeds, she thought she could hear something, though... and she could already feel the violent array of Scrivener's emotions going haywire, sending a chill along her spine. She suspected he was in trouble... and she was right, as Scrivener found himself in mist and darkness, staring up at a platform lit by a spotlight... and sitting calmly, cloaked in shadows cast by the high-backed throne that half-imprisoned him, was Valthrudnir. He was calmly shuffling a deck of playing cards in his hands... but something was wrong with him. So clearly wrong with him, even though all Scrivener could see were those white scales of his hands, and his pristine ivory suit. His features were hidden in the darkness of the warped throne, but sitting against one side of it was a cloaked and alien figure. He couldn't make out anything about her, as Valthrudnir glared at him from the darkness, his amber eyes glowing... but he knew who it was all the same. I have a message for you, now... for the special one, who can hear my voice. I know you can...whispered the Prophet into his mind, but she didn't look up at him. She only sat with her back against the side of Valthrudnir's throne, head bowed forwards. I have a message from the Clockwork King, for you to give to Brynhild and to Freya. And to Odin... to all those who played a role in his defeat. "T-They cheated!" Valthrudnir shouted furiously, and the cards were scattered as he slammed a fist down against the arm of his throne, cracking it. But the Prophet didn't flinch, even as Valthrudnir snarled in the shadows, his eyes flickering like stuttering lamps before he pointed at Scrivener and said in a cold voice: "D-Do not think th-that your petty v-victory against my f-f-forces today means a-anything!" Scrivener only stared mutely, unable to speak, feeling like he was bleeding but too scared to check... scared, because he didn't think he was bleeding blood. Then the Prophet's voice entered his mind again, saying quietly: We will return. For now, we leave you with this offer: surrender your world peacefully to us and we will offer a merciful execution to those who have offended the master and recalibrate all others to better suit the Clockwork King. Otherwise, all will be destroyed. "You c-cannot win. My v-victory is inevitable, S-Scrivener Blooms. You will d-die from the c-corruption in your mind long b-before you conquer the Hexad. Y-You will never recover from t-those poisons, that I g-g-guarantee! And I think you know t-that yourself, too, don't you?" Valthrudnir mocked, and then he reached up... and Scrivener swore that he thought he saw a tremble in that hand as it slid into his jacket to pull out another pack of playing cards. "You may have d-delayed my plan, but... I will... obtain what is rightfully m-mine." The Black Mirror has closed, but it will be reopened when the time is right. The Clockwork King cannot be stopped. There are other ways to acquire Kvas. The Prophet said calmly, and then Valthrudnir snarled and slammed a fist against the throne again, dropping the unopened pack of cards. "S-Silence, Prophet! They do not k-know, they could not know..." Valthrudnir broke down into muttering to himself, before his flickering amber eyes looked up at Scrivener and he whispered: "Unless... t-that is why you refused to simply h-hand the toy over... h-he is not even a r-r-real life, merely a m-manufactured t-trophy! Yes, I see... I s-see! You cannot o-outwit me, I will not be cheated a-again!" Scrivener breathed slowly in and out, and he realized that whatever this thing was... it was also very likely insane. And the idea of an insane Valthrudnir scared him even more than a normal Valthrudnir, before the Prophet rose her head slightly, just slightly, and her voice murmured to him quietly: Goodbye, earth pony. With that, the vision vanished into darkness, and Scrivener looked back and forth before he felt hot breath on the back of his neck. He stared straight ahead, trembling for a moment, and then a large, looming shape slowly leaned past him before he sighed in relief as a familiar voice whispered in his ear: "Hi. What did I miss?" "Pinkamena..." Scrivener mumbled, and he smiled after a moment over his shoulder at the sight of the demon in full,terrifying shape: not likely the normal pony's reaction to finding a demon in their mind, but then again... "I'm glad to see you." "Well don't think I'm here to make out with you or anything." Pinkamena said irritably, and Scrivener scowled at her before she grinned widely and leaned forwards, adding mildly: "It's really easy to puppet your body when you're unconscious, by the way. I think I'm going to grope Applejack while I'm in here, see how badly you get beaten up." Scrivener Blooms glowered at her, and then the demon paused moodily before frowning and looking back and forth, adding slowly: "Where's Nightmare Moon? Usually I say something like that and that monster shows up... the scary one, I mean, not the secret-softy you married." Scrivener only shook his head, however, reaching up and touching his forehead as he murmured quietly: "Can't you feel it? Come on, you used to be really good at this whole 'possession' thing." "Hey, I haven't practiced this garbage for a while." Pinkamena snorted in disgust, and then she looked moodily up as surroundings began to slowly filter in around them: dark, dead trees, a night sky above, a solid but warm mire beneath their hooves. "I see. The corruption is clogging your mind... yeah, you looked... you looked hurt." Pinkamena quieted, and Scrivener looked awkwardly away before the half-demon said moodily: "Don't read too much into it, mister sensitive. I only care because you still understand what life is like for me better than most of the idiots around here do. I only care because you're still my cellmate, even if I got Sleipnir here, too." She paused, then shook her head and said moodily: "Come on. I'll bring you out of unconsciousness. Princess Sunshine said something bad must have happened to you and no surprise, she was right." "She was right in more than one way. I need to talk to Celestia." Scrivener paused, then looked at Pinkamena meditatively for a moment. "How badly does my body hurt right now?" "Oh, right, yes. Let me just turn on your pain sensors, expose myself to what will likely be agony for you, and then come back down here to tell you that your condition is one of suck. But guess what? It's your body, loser, so you deal with it." Pinkamena said grouchily, and then she looked at him moodily as Scrivener looked at her pleadingly. "Oh, goddammit. Fine, we'll cut a deal, but only because I'm hungry." Scrivener smiled at her and nodded... and a few moments later, he opened his eyes in reality, wincing for a moment before Pinkamena grumbled in his static, haze-filled mind: Yeah, yeah, shut up. A moment later, the pain quickly receded, and Scrivener sighed in relief even as Pinkamena muttered :Don't know why you care. You seem to like pain. "Only certain kinds." Scrivener mumbled, and then he smiled faintly when Luna hugged him tightly, returning the embrace before he looked up and said awkwardly: "Sorry, everyone. I... I guess it was both Courage and... something else..." Scrivener shook his head slowly, still feeling fuzzy, his emotions muted and his body feeling a bit numb... but that was from Pinkamena, as the demon fed off his emotions and his pain. As the demon gobbled them greedily up, she grew stronger, and he felt less pain... a win-win, as long as she didn't start digging too deep into his mind and memories to have the opposite effect on him and instead worsen the way he way he was feeling. But he trusted her... trusted her enough to let her poke around in his head, which she mumbled a moody 'thank you' for as he turned his eyes to Luna and smiled faintly at her. They studied each other for a few moments, both hating the way their mental link was being blocked out by the boiling corruption, and then Rainbow looked up and said finally: "Guys, I don't... I don't want to interrupt, but we need to get Spitfire to a hospital, and... and..." "Big Mac, you carry Rainbow. I'll get Spitfire." Scrivener said quietly, and when Luna gave him an apprehensive look, he shook his head. "I have Pinkamena painkillers. I'm fine." "Pinkamena painkillers. Somehow that sounds horrible." Rainbow grinned a little all the same, then he wheezed a bit when Soarin' stepped towards him to help him to his hooves, shaking his head before looking worriedly over at Spitfire again: she was breathing shallowly, and they had convinced Luna despite her almost-panicking state over Scrivener to do what healing she could... but that wasn't a lot. She didn't look good, and Rainbow shook his head slowly as he whispered: "Goddammit. Courage was so... vicious..." "She hated Spitfire." Scrivener said abruptly, and Rainbow looked at him sharply, the male smiling faintly over at the stallion. "I'll... fill you in later." "Yeah, okay. Yeah... you got... those visions again, huh?" Rainbow asked finally, and Scrivener nodded slowly in response. The Pegasus grimaced a bit at this, shaking his head slowly as he looked down before he glanced up and said finally: "And something else happened, yeah?" Scrivener smiled at this as Applejack glanced over her shoulder at unconscious Avalon on her back, before the goldenrod mare murmured softly: "Now come on, Dashie. I'm sure... Scrivener and Luna will tell us everything in time. I just... I'm glad that you're okay, Rainbow. I know... I know that might sound a little cruel, and I'm sorry for those who died, but... I'm so glad you and Avalon made it out." "You have an amazing daughter." Soarin' said after a moment, and Rainbow smiled a little over at him before the Wonderbolt hesitated, then added finally: "I'm... sorry." "Hey, save it for later." Rainbow smiled again, though, nodding to him before he groaned in pain as Big Mac carefully began to pull Rainbow up over his back, the blue Pegasus cursing weakly as Soarin' winced and awkwardly helped push Rainbow up and over the red stallion's back. Luna, meanwhile, had already gently lifted Spitfire with telekinesis onto Scrivener: the charcoal earth pony could feel his legs trembling a bit and felt worried that he'd overestimated his strength, but the demon currently in his mind only grumbled and muttered: Stop your fussing, you big baby. I should be making you do this without my help. "You've always been so nice." Scrivener mumbled, and Luna gave him an odd look before the earth pony grunted and gestured upwards, and the winged unicorn sighed a little, glowering: somehow, it was all too clear she was glaring at Pinkamena, not at him. But shortly, they were organized: Luna, now a little more coherent, and if anything, embarrassed over how she'd panicked over Scrivener, pushed herself to tend a little further to both Rainbow Dash and Spitfire, and to gaze quietly over Avalon. But the foal wasn't hurt: unconscious still, but she had lapsed into natural sleep from her faint, and it was best just to let her rest for now. Their march along the gorge trail was slow but steady, as the dark clouds above slowly cleared away and revealed the full, beautiful night sky. As Scrivener looked back and forth, he realized he was seeing hints of auras... but with Pinkamena in his head, his vision was being suppressed, and the demon muttered: A full time demon nanny? I don't think so. Why don't we just try electroshock therapy or trepanning your skull? Those could both be plenty fun options. "How about no." Scrivener mumbled, and then he shook his head quickly before looking up at Luna, smiling faintly when she glanced over her shoulder at him. "Just arguing with Pinkamena." "It still scares me she can like, go into things on top of everything else she can do." Rainbow said mildly, and then he attempted to stretch out a wing before cursing sharply, Big Mac giving him a pointed glance. "Hey, I was just checking! No harm in checking, right?" Big Mac only looked at him for another moment, then Applejack said wryly over her shoulder: "If there was no harm in checking, Rainbow, then you wouldn't've been hurt just then, would you?" "You're one to talk, miss 'gotta be back on my hooves as fast as Luna was.'" Rainbow retorted, and Applejack blushed a bit as she cleared her throat loudly and looked ahead. "That ended in disaster once or twice, didn't it?" "Luna fell down a lot after her pregnancy. I had to carry her in from the backyard more than once." Scrivener remarked, and then he winced when the sapphire mare glared over her shoulder at him. "Just adding to the conversation. All of us here are guilty of trying too hard at some point, I think." Soarin' smiled at this, shaking his head and saying softly: "Nah. Me? I'm way more than happy with sitting back and resting between shows. Sure, nothing beats being in the air... but laying on the couch with a piece of pie sure comes close." Rainbow snorted in amusement at this, looking over at the Wonderbolt as he said in a gentle, teasing voice: "I can't believe I used to idolize you guys." "Me neither." Soarin' smiled wider in return, and then he shook his head slowly and glanced awkwardly up at the night sky overhead, murmuring: "Spitfire, though. She was always dedicated. To the team, and to the skies..." He looked at her silently, then shook his head and added finally: "Barely... I barely knew the other two. Think one was named... Roller or something, and the other was Windstorm. Pretty sure it wasn't her real name, of course... I mean, heck, half the 'bolts changed their name up for something with a little more flash, a little more sizzle." Soarin' sighed after a moment, dropping his head forwards, and then he grimaced a bit and mumbled: "All that talk about us... I think Spitfire really believed it. But I guess that even when you're the best... there's always someone better, isn't there?" "It depends on how thou may judge their quality." Luna said thoughtfully to this, gazing ahead. Soarin' looked up, as if for guidance, but then Luna fell silent for a moment, frowning before she muttered: "Scrivener, something is moving ahead." Scrivener nodded, frowning as he strode up beside her, and the group paused in the middle of the gorge as the earth pony studied the darkness ahead. He took a slow breath, giving Pinkamena a mental reassurance, and the demon grunted after a moment before he felt a twist in his mind, cursing under his breath as pain flooded his system in a pulse, and the auras grew into stranger, larger visions. But at the same time, it let his eyes see through the darkness ahead, and his corruption-laced mind processed the creatures that were in the process of trying to flee through the gorge, thankfully not coming towards them but instead hurrying up a pass just ahead. "Dullahan. Deathless warriors from Decretum, somewhere between... undead and cursed. They won't fight us, though..." Scrivener grimaced after a moment, and then the pain and the visions both receded as he shivered a bit. He forced himself to step forwards... and as he did, the pain faded slowly, Luna striding beside him and looking at him quietly. The charcoal earth pony couldn't help but smile a bit, and then he murmured: "Just like old times. You're the warrior with all the real experience, but I'm the walking encyclopedia of legends and stories and monsters." He closed his eyes, and Luna slipped a bit closer to drop her face against the side of his neck, and it comforted him, more than he could express. And bit-by-bit, he could feel their mental link starting to clear up, felt the static fading as they pushed onwards, until they were finally once more in sight of Canterlot. Pegasus Guard were patrolling the perimeter, and they looked thankful to see the ponies returning, a cadre of soldiers immediately hurrying out to meet them: while Soarin', Spitfire and Rainbow Dash were carefully taken to get treatment in the infirmary, Scrivener and Luna were asked to accompany the others to meet Celestia. Applejack, meanwhile, decided to go with Rainbow Dash and to have the doctors take a look at Avalon, just in case, and Big Mac volunteered to help with cleanup operations once they were inside the castle and saw the devastation that had been wrought. They were brought to Celestia's quarters, and Luna's expression of grumpy worry turned to full-out concern when she saw several doctors just leaving Celestia's bedroom. The sapphire mare hurried forwards, shoving through the double doors... and immediately, she was almost tackled by Twilight, who hugged her fiercely and whispered: "I'm sorry." "No, no. No, thou has nothing to be sorry for." Luna soothed quietly, hugging Twilight tightly back as Scrivener quietly walked in behind her... and then Twilight slipped past Luna and hugged him fiercely, and Scrivener hissed in pain and almost collapsed as Luna groaned and flinched, wheezing: "Now thou has something to be sorry for!" Twilight blushed and hurriedly drew back, looking embarrassedly at Scrivener, but the charcoal earth pony only shook his head out tiredly and smiled wryly. Then both he and Luna looked slowly up at the large, round bed Celestia was laying in with her eyes closed and her rainbow mane swirling slowly around her, before Luna smiled faintly and said quietly: "Thou art awake, big sister. Do not be childish." "I was just avoiding rushing you, that's all." Celestia replied softly as her eyes opened, studying both Scrivener and Luna with tangible relief. Her covers were pulled carefully up over her body, but when she rose her head and sat up a bit, it became clear how much bandaging was over her body, much of it soaked through with blood. Luna frowned at her as Scrivener studied the ivory equine, and then he said softly: "You seem different. Apart from the cuts and bruises." Celestia only smiled a little, then she shook her head, looking over him thoughtfully before murmuring: "And you, Scrivener Blooms, seem both better and worse than I expected. Better because you're on your hooves... but I expect Pinkamena has something to do with that, doesn't she?" Scrivener looked up at her with surprise, and Celestia only shook her head, saying softly: "Your eyes are darker than usual, among other things. But then again, I've spent a lot of time and experience with demons and possession." "Well screw you too, Princess Sunshine, I'm just doing him a favor here. Why do you need to turn everything into a 'look how great I am' contest?" Scrivener said sharply, and then he blushed deeply and reached up to cover his mouth as Pinkamena laughed in his head. "Oh Horses of Heaven." "Don't worry about it." Celestia only shook her head, and Scrivener could swear there was a hint of amusement in her eyes, perhaps even relief. "But as you've seen and no doubt surmised... the attack here was catastrophic. I have no idea how they came on in such great numbers, but I'm thankful to say their main focus was the castle and not the city... they appeared to be after Kvasir." "I was going to tell you that myself." Scrivener quieted for a moment, looking down, and Celestia frowned at him as Luna looked sharply over at Scrivener, picking up the information from their mental link even before he said softly: "The Prophet and Valthrudnir... or... or whatever the hell it is... spoke to me. Told me that... they wanted Kvas, which I'm assuming is Kvasir. Valthrudnir and the Prophet wanted us to hand him over." "More specifically, it's my blood." murmured a voice, and Scrivener looked over his shoulder in surprise as Kvasir quietly strode into the room, a bruised but smiling Sleipnir beside him. The enormous, vine maned earth pony traded a hug with his sister, then made Scrivener whimper in pain with the fierceness of his embrace, as Luna gargled a little and Twilight winced. Kvasir, however, only looked quietly from Scrivener to Celestia, then he asked finally: "Why didn't you agree? Either of you? Celestia, you said yourself, I am homunculus... a... a puppet, not a real god." "You're still a person." Celestia said simply in return, and Kvasir looked stunned at this response before the ivory mare turned her eyes to Scrivener, asking quietly: "But if you have the strength for it... perhaps you can go over this vision in detail." "I have Pinkamena painkillers. I'll be fine." Scrivener smiled a little after a moment, and then he frowned when Sleipnir gave him a thoughtful look. "What?" "Oh, nothing. I simply do not know whether or not 'tis adultery that my wife is inside of thee, instead of thou being inside my wife." Sleipnir replied easily, and Luna snorted laughter as even Twilight looked surprised into cracking a smile. Scrivener shook his head as Pinkamena snorted in amusement inside of him, but then the charcoal stallion returned his eyes to Celestia, taking a deep breath before beginning quietly: "The vision was strong... but... there was something... wrong... about Valthrudnir..." Category:Transcript Category:Story